Luke 3:2-6

During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region of Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah...

What difference does Advent make to you? Be honest, every year we decorate this church, we place these candles up front by the Communion table and we plan ahead for events like Old Fashion Christmas, the Living Nativity and of course the Christmas Eve celebrations. And then…it all comes down. I am no cynic, I know there are moments of grace...

When I was in Seminary our professors would ask us to refrain from a preaching technique they called “dualism”. You will have heard preachers and other public speakers use this technique, to suggest all important issues can be distilled to a choice between two opposites. It will not surprise you to know the preacher would weight...

A few years ago a colleague of mine, a Canadian Forces Padre, asked me to fill in as a Reserve Unit Padre. I enjoyed the work and meeting young women and men committed to serving others. One of the tasks associated with this role was to meet with soldiers who had been asked to serve overseas, deployed to a mission where troops would be “in harm’s way”...

When Kim and I sold our home in Toronto the realtor sent a “stager” to visit us and offer suggestions on how to make our house more attractive to potential buyers. Among the suggestions was to remove all family pictures and replace them with mirrors. I asked why. The stager explained that buyers want to imagine themselves living in the house...

October is Volunteer Appreciation Month at Bethany and thus I ask each of you this morning to consider the reasons you volunteer, at Bethany, elsewhere, wherever you offer your labour without cost. I have spent a lifetime being around non-profits, churches, minor sports, and talking to people who offer their best selves for the organization and its mission…

One question I am asked repeatedly will not surprise you, “Kevin, why is it that more conservative churches seem to be growing, or at the very least maintaining their relative size and enthusiasm, while more progressive or liberal churches seem to be in decline?” Have you heard this question? My hunch is that you have...

As you have heard me say many times I always read Luke’s story about a host and his guests at weddings where I am the presider. I do this for rather predicable reasons, I want the couple to make room in their lives for others, that in a bond of love the openness to others is a profound and added blessing to any spirit-filled life...

In our Gospel story this morning Jesus is confronting his disciples on the question of a “stumbling block”. That is Jesus tells his followers they must run a race and that race leads to a prize and the prize is salvation. Now some of you will hear that word, salvation and feel like you know exactly what Jesus means…

Amy Allen, New Testament professor at Vanderbilt University says of today’s Gospel text:

Children occupied an interesting place in the first century household (for Jews and Romans alike). They represented the future—they would carry on the family name, provide for their aging parents...

Jesus asked his disciples, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?” Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.” He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive...

Sandra Hack Polaski, Professor of New Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia, shares this insight about our James reading this morning, “Nearly every one of us who sits on a platform or in a choir loft during the worship service has at some point seen a stranger entering the service late...

Deuteronomy 1:31

And in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place...

I was on the bus the other day, reading a chapter of our summer preaching series text The Difference Heaven Makes when someone looked over, saw the cover, and decided to offer his opinion. “That’s easy” he said, “Everyone knows the difference heaven makes...

Yesterday we celebrated the life of the late Doris Phillips, many of you knew her. Her husband Bill is here every Sunday and most everyone in Halifax knows Bill! To help me shape the theme and tone of the celebration I met with Bill and his two sons Dave and Peter...

Almost fifteen years ago I was working at a Toronto church and helping coordinate the Out of the Cold program on Friday nights in the city’s east end. My role was to recruit volunteers, manage the evening of guests, volunteers...

About ten years ago I was asked to attend a gathering in Toronto of United Church congregations that were experiencing significant numerical growth. I was out in the suburbs at that time and our church had begun to focus its considerable gifts and enthusiasm around the mission of outreach...

A colleague of mine spent his sabbatical time looking at Jesus’ agricultural metaphors and finding more urban appropriate examples. Let’s face it most people today either live in an urban area or are moving there. Understanding the parables, the stories, the deeper truths of Jesus can be complicated by this shift of context...

A good friend of mine recently conducted a survey of churches in his small city. He called all of the churches, big and small, all denominations, and he called late at night so no one would be in the office. My friend wanted to hear all of the voicemails, and he did...

In our lesson from Samuel, we hear about a boy called to fill the vacuum left by priests who had so thoroughly abandoned their calling that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days” (1 Sam. 3:1). The sons of Eli were blaspheming God by using their position to fleece people who were just trying to worship God...